Speech #1000090941

The Soviet authorities. however. have refused to make such demands. and have in effect given an individuals relatives the power to veto his or her exit from the Soviet Union. Therefore. the situation facing Dr. Dashevsky and thousands of Jews seeking to emigrate. is a problem that stems not from faults in current internal Soviet law. but from the Governments refusal to implement its own regulations. While General Secretary Gorbachev has announced a new policy of glasnost. and proclaimed to the world "the beginning of a new era of openness." the numbers of Jews being allowed to emigrate from the Soviet Union are still fewer than in previous times. and are certainly as yet not significant enough to proclaim a new era. In 1986. the emigration of Soviet Jews was at its lowest in 15 years. Although approximately 260.000 Jews have been allowed to leave the Soviet Union since 1968. at least 400.000 more continue to fight for the fundamental right to relocate to a place of their choosing. In 1979. 51.320 Jews were pernlitted to emigrate from the U.S.S.R.. while in 1982. only 2.688 were allowed to leave. more than 48.000 less than the 1979 figure. In 1986. the number of Jews allowed to emigrate was at its lowest in 15 years. with only 914 being allowed to leave. These numbers are not idle figures. As the case of Dr. Dashevsky exemplifies. were talking about human lives and the basic rights of freedom. It is time for the Soviet Union to stop treating the lives of Jewish people as a tool of foreign policy. and end the game of treating the issue of Jewish emigration as a convenient political yoyo. letting the numbers go up and down based solely on the political whims of the Soviet leadership. Mr. Speaker. on August 1. 1975. the Soviet Union joined 34 other countries in the family of nations. in signing the Helsinki accords. This important document. committed signatory states to the pursuit of human rightsto opening the doors to free speech and movement. to family reunifications. to uninhibited religious expression. and to a toleration of individual ideas. By signing the accords. the Soviet Union placed its international credibility on the line. and the world continues to watch in the hopes that the Soviets will follow this agreement with substantive action. Mr. Speaker. I call upon the Soviet Government to abide by the Helsinki accords. on the occasion of this weeks very important meetings between Secretary of State Shultz and Soviet Foreign Minister Shevardnardze. to end these intolerable practices. and to cease treating the issue of emigration for Soviet Jewry as a convenient political tool. As Dr. Dashevskys situation clearly points out. the current methods being employed by Soviet authorities are arbitrary. and in violation of fundamental human rights that have been fully endorsed by the global community.